Trekking Through the Tulips

Valdheer's Tulip Farm, Holland, Michigan
5/18/2018  dwm photo

We were in Grand Rapids the third weekend of May, the week after the Holland Tulip Festival.

While we didn't expect to see all the flowers in their glory, we thought we might see some nice blooms.

We did.

We started downtown at Centennial Park (photo below).  While some Tulips beds were already cleared of all flowers and stems, other varieties were still showing off.

The advantage of arriving to the party a week late was finding plenty of places to park!

Around the large park, more than half the beds still held flowers in full bloom or just past their peak.

Even a week late, this is a flower display you need to see!

A variety of tulips in Centennial Park.
5/18/2018  dwm photo

We drove down boulevards lined with Tulips along the edge of the streets impressed by the beauty of the bright colors.

During the week of the festival, townsfolk and guests see more than 5,000,000 tulips which are the star of a week filled with parades, carnival rides, and special treats celebrating the community's Dutch heritage.

Tulips in the gardens where I grew up were usually found alone or in pairs.  So seeing them blanket the landscape was impressive.

At the Window on the Water park along the Macatawa River where it becomes a lake before emptying into Lake Michigan, I found several large beds of Tulips.

Tulips in the Window on the Water park.
5/18/2018   dwm photo

This bed of white Tulips stretched in several direction like a pinwheel.  I couldn't figure out the shape.  The individual blooms reminded me of a bed of roses.

Our final stop was at Veldheer's Tulip Farm (top photo).  According to their website, they plant more than 6 million covering 800 varieties.

If you choose well, you can see Tulips for a month from the earliest blooms to the last.

Their catalog has suggestions on how to care for Tulips.  Apparently, you shouldn't just plant 'em and forget 'em.

Valdeer Tulips  5/18/2018  dwm

The Tulip farm is worth a visit anytime, by the way.  During May, you can tour the gardens ($10 and worth it for me).

In the fall, the bulbs are ready to purchase.  If you can't make it to Holland, Michigan - you can order online or through their catalog.  The only place that grows more Tulips is the Netherlands.

There are other things to see there year-round including wooden shoes.

We weren't sure what we would see in Holland, but it surprised and delighted with a unique floral display on a scale I'd not seen before.

The tradition started in 1927, but it was 1929 when guests were encouraged to come for a week in May to enjoy the Tulips.  That's still a good idea.